


Prefects After Dark

by MystExplorer



Series: The Rival Prefects Trilogy [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Gryffindor, Gryffindor Common Room, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Rivalry, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Hogwarts Prefects' Bathroom, Nudism, Nudity, Self-Insert, Slytherin, Slytherins Being Slytherins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-13 20:49:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13578681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MystExplorer/pseuds/MystExplorer
Summary: A new prefect decides to break the rules by taking a midnight bath. All seems well until his arch nemesis shows up.





	Prefects After Dark

          My fifth year at Hogwarts had just begun and I was very proud to have been made a prefect. While I had the power to dock points and give detention, those privileges did not interest me as much as one that I had been looking forward to all summer: the Prefects’ Bathroom. I had heard stories of how luxurious it was and I could not wait to take a hot bath in its gigantic tub. But since it would be my first time, I did not want to do so in the presence of other prefects. I wanted the room all to myself. So I decided to bend the rules by breaking curfew and sneaking out of Gryffindor Tower in the middle of the night. I knew that if I were caught, my career as a prefect would be over. But I figured it was worth it if I could spend at least a few moments soaking in that wonderful tub.

            It took me awhile to find the statue of Boris the Bewildered but once I did, I wasted no time in uttering the password and the fourth door on the left promptly opened. I stepped inside, closed the door and marveled at what lay before me. It was even more magnificent than I had imagined. The tub was indeed the size of a swimming pool with dozens of golden taps lining its sides. And there was the portrait of the beautiful mermaid I had heard about, sunning herself on her rock. Yes, it looked like I was in for a nice, relaxing bath. I took off my robe, followed by my slippers and pajamas and placed my lucky towel on top of them. I then started playing around with the taps until the tub was full and covered in bubbles. Satisfied that the bath was ready, I got in and swam around for a minute. I let the warm water surround my body and before long, I felt utterly rejuvenated. Just as I was starting to really relax, I could not help but get the sense that I was being watched. I looked around the room and sure enough, there was the ghost of a girl with glasses hiding in the shadows.

            “Oh”, I said, startled. “Um, hello.”

            “Hello,” she replied.

            “Are you..,” I started to ask.

            “Moaning Myrtle,” she said.

            “Right. I’ve heard of you. You haunt the girls’ bathroom.”

            “Yes but I also like to spend time in this bathroom. “

            “I can see why. It’s quite something.”

            “Indeed. Whenever I’m bored, I like to listen to the pipes for the sound of rushing water. If it goes to the fifth floor, then I know a prefect is taking a bath.”

            “So you like to watch prefects take baths?” Myrtle nodded. “Do you ever talk to them?”

            “No. I try to stay hidden. You just happened to spot me before I could duck out of sight.”

            “I see. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Myrtle. I’m Thomas.”

            “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Thomas. Are you enjoying being a prefect?”

            “Yes. Especially now that I can use this bathroom. Tell me, when you’re watching prefects take baths, do you see… everything?”

            “Sometimes,” Myrtle said cheekily. “But not tonight. When I arrived, you were already in the tub.”

            “And the bubbles are in the way,” I said. “Would you, uh, like to see all of me?”

            “Not if you don’t want me to.”

            “Oh, I don’t mind. I’m not ashamed of my body.”

            “Go on then,” she said with a grin.

            “Ok,” I said and stepped out of the tub. “Well, here I am. What do you think?” Myrtle looked me up and down and then floated around so she could see both sides of me.

            “Not bad,” she said. “Not bad at all.”

            “How do I compare to the other prefects?”

            “I’d say you have a much bigger, um, smile than they do. But otherwise you’re not that different.”

            “I’ll take it.”

            “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who’s as comfortable in their own skin as you. When I was alive, I’d get upset if someone saw me without my glasses, never mind my clothes.”

            “Well, it’s a little something I learned from Muggles, actually. They have a word for it that has no equivalent in the wizarding world that I’m aware of. It’s called ‘nudism’. It’s the belief that people should be free to wear whatever they want, whenever they want and that includes wearing nothing at all if they so choose. If I lived in the Muggle world, I’d be what they call a nudist. I like to spend as much time as I can in my birthday suit. Unfortunately, I don’t get many chances which is why I relished the idea of spending a night in the prefects’ bathroom all by myself.”

            “And then I had to come along and ruin it for you,” Myrtle said sadly. “I’ll go and leave you in peace.” She started to float away.

            “No, don’t go! I’m enjoying your company. You’re very understanding.”

            “Really? Thanks,” she said sheepishly. "So Thomas, do your parents know that you're a, what do you call it… er, nudist?"

            "I never knew my parents. I was found on the doorstep of a Muggle orphanage. Growing up there was no picnic. The other children bullied me because I made things happen that weren't easily explained. I had no idea I was a wizard until the letter from Hogwarts came."

            "I was Muggleborn too!" Myrtle exclaimed.

            "Ah! So we have something in common then." I smiled as I realized that I might be falling for a ghost.

            Just then, the door to the bathroom opened and in stepped the last person I wanted to see: Malcolm, a stuck up Slytherin who had been the bane of my existence ever since our first day at Hogwarts together. I had been disgusted to learn that he had also been made a prefect. He must have had the same idea for a late night bath since he too was in his pajamas and carrying a towel. For several seconds, he just stood there with a look of sheer hatred on his face. I did not bother to cover myself up. Instead, I put my hands on my hips to show that I would not let myself be intimidated by him.

            “Thomas,” he said curtly.

            “Malcolm,” I replied.

            “Having a midnight bath are we?”

            “Yes.”

            “That’s what I had in mind too. But it looks like you beat me to it. Congratulations.”

            “Thanks,” I said sarcastically. “And since we’re both breaking curfew, I guess that means we can’t tell on each other. Otherwise, we’d both become ex-prefects and we can’t let that happen, can we, Malcolm?”

            “No, I suppose not.” After an awkward pause, he indicated Myrtle and said, “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

            “Oh, right. Malcolm, this is Moaning Myrtle, she haunts the girls’ bathroom. Myrtle, this is Malcolm, he delights in making my life a living hell.”

            “How do you do?” Malcolm said to Myrtle.

            “Fine thanks,” Myrtle replied. “Thomas here was just telling me how much he loves spending time without any clothes on.”

            “That doesn’t surprise me,” Malcolm said flatly. “Especially considering the size of your… ego, Thomas. It could fill this entire room.”

            “Why thank you for the compliment,” I snapped back.

            “And since you enjoy being naked so much, then I’m sure you won’t mind if I do this.” Before I could stop him, Malcolm grabbed my clothes and towel and ran out of the room with them.

            “Oh no!” I cried. “He must be taking them back to the Slytherin Common Room. I don’t know their password. I’ve got to stop him before he gets there!”

            “Good luck,” Myrtle said.

            “Thanks. It was nice meeting you, Myrtle.”

            “You too, Thomas. Come back anytime.”

             I nodded and then ran after Malcolm as fast as I could. I knew that the Slytherin Common Room was located in the dungeons so I headed in that direction. My heart was pounding as I flew past the portraits of various witches and wizards, most of whom were fast asleep. I could hear Malcolm running ahead of me but he managed to stay just out of sight. After what felt like hours, I finally reached the stone wall that hid the entrance to the Common Room. I was elated to see it was open and then immediately horrified when it started to close. It slammed shut just as I approached it and I fell to the floor in defeat. Malcolm had triumphed. He had bested me and I could not help but feel a kind of grudging admiration for him beneath all the anger that was bubbling up inside me. Nevertheless, I vowed that I would get him back somehow.

            As I sat there catching my breath, it suddenly dawned on me how exhilarating my run through the castle had been. In my rush to catch up with Malcolm, I had not realized that running through the halls of Hogwarts completely naked could be so much fun. The Muggles have a word for that too. They call it “streaking”. So not only was I a nudist, I thought, I had also become a streaker. And there was still plenty of time before the rest of the castle would awaken. Well, I was never one to turn down a golden opportunity. I stood up, stretched a bit and took off. I ran through a seemingly endless maze of corridors, grinning from ear to ear and promising myself that I would not stop until I had used up all my energy. I had never felt more liberated in my life. It was almost like I was completely alone in the castle and the knowledge that I was not did nothing to dampen my spirits. If anything, the prospect of getting caught only served to heighten the thrill for me. At that moment, the fact that I was a prefect and could very well be expelled if someone saw me did not matter. All that mattered was that I was happy and did not have a care in the world.

            After running for a long time, I skidded to a halt. As I leaned against a wall to rest, I once again felt that I was being watched. Suddenly terrified, I slowly turned around and came face to face with Peeves the Poltergeist. He had his usual look of smug superiority on his face.

            “Hi Peeves,” I said, trying desperately to act natural. “How are you?”

            “Quite well,” Peeves said. “I thought students weren’t allowed out of bed after hours.”

            “Well, yes, that’s technically true,” I said while doing my best to think of an excuse.

            “Which means that what you’re doing is very rude. And you’re doing it while in the nude. So you’re rude and you’re nude! Rude and nude! Rude and nude!” He went on like that in a sing-song fashion for a little while. I could tell he was enjoying it immensely.

            “Ok, ok!” I finally shouted. “You’re right! I’m rude and nude. I get it! Now please, let’s just keep this between us, all right?”

            Peeves seemed to seriously consider the prospect for a moment before screaming, “NUDIE! NUDIE!” and he took off down the hall.

            I panicked because I knew the caretaker was likely patrolling the halls and would be alerted by Peeves’ voice. Even though the two of them had never gotten along, the caretaker did rely on Peeves when it came to hunting down students who misbehaved. I decided it was time to head back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Keeping to the shadows as much as possible, I made my way quickly but quietly to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

            “Password?” she said.

            “Dragon’s breath”, I replied and the portrait swung open. I ran into the Common Room only to find there was someone else there. Thankfully, it was my friend Adam.

             “Oh, hey Thomas,” he said nonchalantly. “Sneaking out of bed are we?”

             “Yeah. I wanted to try out the Prefects’ Bathroom by myself.”

             “How was it?”

             “Amazing. But unfortunately, Malcolm Turner had the same idea and made off with my clothes and towel.”

             “Well, that would explain a lot,” Adam said with a wink.

             “Yep. You don’t seem to mind that I’m standing here in front of you stark naked.”

             “No. I don’t. I mean, it’ s still you. It’s just you without your clothes on. You have nothing to hide and that’s great. Just be yourself. Who cares what anyone else thinks?”

             “Thanks. That’s exactly how I feel. You’re a good friend.”

             “Hey, don’t mention it.”

             “Do you mind if I stay here for awhile?”

             “Not at all.”

             I smiled and sat down in one of the chairs by the fireplace. The warmth of the flames absorbed what little moisture was left from the bath. “So what are you doing up so late?”

             “I couldn’t sleep so I decided to study for that transfiguration exam coming up next week,” Adam said, indicating the book he was reading.

             “Transfiguration,” I said as a thought came to me. “That’s a subject that might come in useful concerning Malcolm.”

             “What do you mean?”

             “I don’t know. I was thinking about maybe turning him into a toad or something.”

             “Why?”

             “To get back at him for stealing my stuff.”

             “You could do that. Or you could thank him.”

             “Thank him?!”

             “Well, look at it this way. By depriving you of your clothes, he proved that you don’t need them to show people who you truly are. It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re dressed to the nines or naked as the day you were born. I enjoy your company either way.”

              I thought long and hard about what Adam said before agreeing with him. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” As I stared into the fire, I decided that the next time I saw Malcolm, I would thank him. And then maybe turn him into a toad.


End file.
